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Investing.com -- Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) says new regulatory filings show Bitcoin is drawing interest from a broader set of institutional buyers, strengthening the bank’s thesis that the cryptocurrency could reach $500,000 before the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s term.
“SEC 13F data for Q1 supports our thesis that Bitcoin is attracting a wider range of buyers,” wrote Geoff Kendrick, global head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered.
He notes that while holdings of spot Bitcoin ETFs dropped in the quarter, indirect exposure through MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) increased notably among global government entities.
Kendrick highlights that Norway’s Government Pension Fund, the Swiss National Bank, and South Korea’s National Pension Service and Korea Investment Corporation each boosted their MSTR holdings by the equivalent of 700 BTC in Q1.
U.S. state retirement systems in California, New York, North Carolina, and Kentucky collectively added another 1,000 BTC equivalent through MicroStrategy.
Saudi Arabia, France, Sweden, and Liechtenstein also reported new or marginal increases in exposure via MSTR.
“We believe that in some cases, MSTR holdings by government entities reflect a desire to gain Bitcoin exposure where local regulations do not allow direct BTC holdings,” Kendrick said.
Direct ETF data painted a more muted picture. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board exited its entire position of 3,400 BTC-equivalent in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT). Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala raised its IBIT holdings to 5,000 BTC from 4,700.
While the decline in ETF participation was “disappointing,” StanChart emphasized that rising MSTR ownership signals “widening structural demand” for Bitcoin, even in more regulated environments.